The phenomenal visibility of Apple’s iPhone may spell the end of the cell-phone industry’s age of innocence. Mobiles have been largely immune to the viruses and other “malware” now inflicted on PCs at the rate of 15,000 per day (up from five per month in 1990). So far, there has yet to be a major cell-phone virus.

Security experts worry, however, that all the excitement surrounding Apple’s newest device will work on hackers like a red rag to a bull. “The hype around the iPhone’s launch makes it almost certain that virus writers will attempt attacks if only to impress their cybermates,” says Graham Cluley, consultant at the Web security firm Sophos.

So far most phones haven’t been smart enough to support truly destructive viruses, which generally require a broadband connection to the Internet ...